LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — More often than not, historic homes are often forgotten about and eventually torn down— but this week, a group in Little Rock is helping restore a house with deep ties to the city's history.
"[I] learned a lot here. This was part of my upbringing and the values that I have today came as a result of being under this roof," Scott Green said.
Scott is the nephew of Ernest Green, one of the Little Rock Nine— and those memories are a big reason why Scott is working the home.
"In this very room is where he slept. He along with my father," Green described.
It's the former home of his uncle, and Green said that the home was left in his hand to keep up back in 2007.
"For about 15 years, it just kind of sat here. I've kept the grass cut to keep code enforcement off my back and kept secure and that was about it," Green explained.
He decided that this year was the right time to revamp the home.
That's clearly a huge investment, but he said that things fell into place.
He explained that the president of the Dunbar Neighborhood Association contacted him and told him he wanted to conduct a window restoration workshop.
The workshop is led by Robert Yapp, an instructor from Preservation Resources in Missouri.
"We travel from city to city and they hire us to come in and train local people how to do good, cost-effective and efficient preservation work," Yapp said.
He said that 14 local students and other contractors are restoring all of the windows on the house.
"A program that teaches you something about windows [and] that's something I didn't have expertise in," described student Tyrone Mallett.
The handyman heard about this project while on another job and was introduced to the Quapaw Quarter Association.
It's one of the many groups helping with the restoration, and Mallett said he's learning a lot.
"I'll be able to restore a window myself after seeing it," Mallett said.
Green said that he's grateful that people like Mallett are bringing life back into the home.
"I look forward to being in this place," Green said.
The group of students and contractors will be working on the house until Saturday, and Green said once the house is finished, he'll move in.
He's hoping other property owners in this area of the city will revamp their houses as well.